Los Angeles County, California

Roof Maintenance in Los Angeles

Many roof leaks in Los Angeles start at a flashing or a drain that nobody looked at before October. A maintenance visit in the fall catches them while the roof is dry. The first look and the written quote are free.

Tell us about your roof Call (310) 857-2520

Free roof inspection
We come out, get on the roof, and tell you what we find.
The price in writing
A written quote before anyone starts, with nothing to sign on the spot.
Licensed roofers
Our roofer who comes out holds a current California license.
Across Los Angeles County
From the Valley and the foothills to the Westside and the South Bay.

Planned maintenance is two visits a year to a roof that is not leaking. On the visit the roof gets walked, the drains and valleys cleared, a hand put on the flashings and penetrations. What comes back is a list of the parts that will fail first, and what each costs to fix while the roof is dry.

On a low-slope roof most leaks start at the flashings, pitch pockets, gravel stops and other penetrations. They age faster than the membrane around them, and sealing them is cheap.

Tell us what the roof is doing and we will come out and look at it.

How oftenTwice a year, and in Los Angeles the fall visit is the one that counts
WhenBefore the rain, not during it, so roughly September into October
What it coversDrains and valleys cleared, every flashing and penetration checked by hand
Why it mattersWarranties can be voided where scheduled maintenance is not recorded

Two visits a year, and when

One visit before the rains and one after. The fall one matters more, and it should be done before October.

Spring and fall is the usual twice-yearly minimum. In Los Angeles the fall visit carries the year, and it has to land before the rain instead of during it. The spring visit is for what the wet months did.

Downtown Los Angeles averages 14.25 inches of rain a year, 13.00 inches of it between October and March, and an August normal of 0.00. A roof here dries out for most of a year, then takes almost all its water in six months.

The visit starts on the ground

A sagging gutter and a stained fascia are visible from the driveway, and they date the problem before anyone climbs.

The first look happens from the ground and from the underside of the deck. Stains at the top of an interior wall, rust down a downspout, chips of tile in the flowerbed. Flashings are the most vulnerable points, so the ceiling below each one gets checked.

The order of work on a low-slope roof

On a low-slope roof the visit runs from the top of the wall down.

Cap flashings.Fasteners backed out, sections lifted after a wind event, metal bent enough to hold water and push it through an end joint, sealant gone hard after a summer of sun.
Edge metal.The stripping over the metal joints is where the sun does its damage, so it lifts and splits early.
Base flashings.Litter packs in behind the base flashing at a parapet and holds water against it. The top termination has to be secure and covered, with no bridging in the membrane.
Penetrations.Drain rings buried under a season of leaf fall, clamping rings not sealing, pitch pans low, boot flanges lifting.
The field.Fasteners tenting the membrane, insulation soft underfoot where a unit has dripped since spring.

Penetrations wear out first

Every one of these is a hole in the roof that something has been sealed around. The field of the membrane is rarely the problem.

Pourable sealer in a pitch pan shrinks and cracks years before the membrane does, so a pan full at the last visit can be low at this one.

Rubber pipe boots go first. Sun hardens the rubber and splits the collar, and a boot can be finished while the covering under it has years left. A boot cracked through needs replacing, and so does one rusting at the flange. Sealant elsewhere gets read by hand. If it has pulled off the metal it is done.

How oftenTwice a year, and in Los Angeles the fall visit is the one that countsThe inspection is free, and the price for your roof comes in writing.

Get a price for your roof

What lands on a roof here

Two dry seasons of leaf litter, then the first rain arrives and has nowhere to go.

Leaves, palm fronds and seed pods land on every roof here, and on a low-slope roof none of it washes anywhere. It banks up in the drain sumps and against the curbs until someone lifts it off. Drains, gutters and downspouts need keeping clear, and it matters most on flat roofs. The same litter is a fire risk in September and a dam in November. Clearing it and resealing what it uncovers is roofing work, and gutters can be cleared with it.

The file and the warranty

ARMA wants the installation records, the roof plan, the installing contractor and the warranty kept with every inspection and repair since. A warranty claim asks for all of it at once. Sika states that warranties can be voided by a lack of scheduled inspections and maintenance, that repairs must go to a contractor it has authorized, and that a leak has to be reported in writing within seven days.

What changes the price

There is no published band for maintenance, and nobody can price a roof without standing on it. What moves the number is size, slope, the count of curbs, drains and penetrations, access, and how far behind it is.

What planned maintenance changes on a low-slope roof is on the commercial roofing page. Repair pricing is on the costs page.

Common questions

Can the visit fix what it finds?

Clearing drains, topping up pitch pans and resealing joints are the kind of work that can happen on the visit. Membrane repairs under a manufacturer warranty go to a contractor that manufacturer has authorized. Anything larger is roof repair, priced on its own.

Can I check it myself between visits?

From the ground and from upstairs windows with binoculars, as ARMA recommends, looking for displaced tile, lifted metal and litter in the valleys. ARMA tells owners not to climb onto a roof at all. On tile there is a second reason, on the tile roofing page. Ask for a quote and we can go up instead.

The offer

$500 off a new roof, 10% off any repair

Send your request online from this page and the offer is attached, with nothing to remember.

We get on the roof, and into the attic if that is where the answer is
You get photographs of whatever we find
The price in writing, with nothing to sign on the spot

Claim it on a free inspection

Drains and sumpsA season of leaf fall banks up against the strainer and stays there.
Boots go firstSun hardens the rubber and splits the collar while the covering has years left.
Ridges and capsBedding cracks, caps lift, and the ridge opens onto the underlayment.